


A Jedi By Any Other Name

by I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning



Series: Adopted Prompts [16]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Anakin is Aware of Vague Past Noncon of Unnamed Slaves, Gen, Implications of Actions Taken, Kyber Crystals, Much Hope, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 21:24:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16416218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning/pseuds/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning
Summary: After Naboo, Obi-Wan leaves the Order to train Anakin. Yoda and Mace throw in some sneaky political maneuvering to help, and New Knight Obi-Wan bonds with Little Ani.Some sadness/angst (since Qui-Gon is recently dead) but it ends with a brave, hopeful tone: the two set off to rescue Shmi. I wouldn't call it "Safe" to read exactly, but it's not Dark-Dark-Awful.





	A Jedi By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> [Moddy on tumblr](http://swpromptsandasks.tumblr.com/) released this prompt in a Prompt Run to find another home. This is almost sort of it.
> 
> Original Prompt: Obi-Wan gets kicked out from the Order (Bandomeer? Melida/Daan? For something else?) But still decides to be a jedi: living up to the Code, helping others, keeping up with saber-practice, seducing sith apprentice Maul, and undermining Sidious’ plans. …The last two not exactly intentional. 
> 
> Extra Warnings: In a discussion about kyber crystals, how they bond willingly and can be forced to bond unwillingly, nine-year-old Anakin will admit he's aware of slaves being treated similarly, forced to "connect" with people they didn't want to.
> 
> Apology: Obimaul didn't seem to happen. Sorry.
> 
> Though I like this AU, and if it continued, I would keep an eye out for that. Just no brain sparkles at the moment, so I'll mark this story as complete, until/unless the brain sparkles run again. I mean, come on. The things I didn't get to: Dooku, Quinlan, Shmi, Obimaul... I'm a little bit skeeved the brain sparkles quit on me.

 

Qui-Gon's corpse had yet to be burned when Obi-Wan Kenobi received knighthood.

Braid in hand, he inquired about Anakin.

“The answer, no still is.”

“In that case, I hereby resign from the Jedi Order, and I take Anakin Skywalker as my charge.”

“ _Twenty-five_ you are. _Nine_ he is. Ready to parent him, are you?”  
Obi-Wan shook his head. “Certainly not. And I would have preferred to have masters with more experience than I around to ask advice from.”

Yoda pinched the bridge of his nose. “The situation with his mother, what is?”

“Still a slave, according to him. A fact Qui-Gon conveniently forgot to mention. And I doubt Anakin would have said so either except I... demanded to know what he knew of his biological background.” He wasn't about to defy the Council just for a surprise family member to steal custody from him.

His heart couldn't take that. Not after Qui-Gon.

“No wonder, afraid he was,” Yoda murmured, sounding mournful. “Words, I have, for a man who no longer hear them can.”

_So do I._ Though if Obi-Wan could have him back for just thirty seconds, he'd forget  _all_ of it in favor of just hearing his voice telling Obi-Wan he was proud of him...

If he had been, of course.

The newly-made knight swallowed, needing all his focus on this current situation.  _I can mourn later._

“Tatooine, part of the Republic is not, and request our interference, Tatooine has  _not._ ”

Obi-Wan gave a nod. “I understand, Master. Morally we cannot go storming in there and imposing our morals on a completely independent and separate civilization.”

“Hmm.  _We_ cannot. But a Tatooine native, ask the help of his  _non-Jedi guardian,_ could. Could indeed, yes, hmm.”

Obi-Wan felt a faint smile touch his lips. “He certainly could.”

“And welcome back for visits, those who leave always are. My padawan, considering leaving is. Miss him we will, but welcome in our home he will always be. You as well, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan raised one eyebrow just to needle his great-grand master. “And my ward?”  
“A  _Jedi_ the Force does not desire him to be. Welcome, young Skywalker is, with you, as a  _person._ ”

“Thank you, Master.”

“And look up Dooku perhaps you should, hmm? The same loss, on you both weighs. Alone neither of you need be.”

Obi-Wan's throat closed up and he closed his eyes to try to relieve the terrible burn.

A gentle hand rested on his, Yoda's warmth seeming to push away some of Obi-Wan's cold and fear. “Proud of you, we are,” the old one murmured, and then held Obi-Wan close as the bereaved knight cried.

 

* * *

 

“Do you have your lightsaber?” Anakin asked, eyes wide.

Obi-Wan sat down heavily in a chair. The funeral had drained so much out of him, but Anakin deserved answers. “No, Anakin. You saw a lightsaber, and you knew exactly what it meant, even far out in a place where Jedi have rarely set foot. A lightsaber isn't just a weapon, Anakin. It is a symbol of authority. Like a badge.”

“And... you're not a cop anymore.”

“Close enough.” Obi-Wan felt his own faint smile. “But a lightsaber is special in another way. Deep in its heart lies a crystal that feels, and perhaps even thinks. They grow all over the galaxy, but in some special places, many of them grow together. Long ago they formed an agreement with ancient Jedi for protection, and to befriend the Jedi in return. Ever since, part of growing up means going to a kyber cave and listening very closely. A crystal will see the Jedi's heart, and sing a song just for that one person that no one else can hear. The two form a bond, very similar to a bond between two people, Anakin.” Obi-Wan drew a small case from inside the civilian jacket the Queen had been kind enough to provide. He opened it, revealing the small, clear crystal. “This is the one that chose me.”

“Whoa.” Startled and amazed eyes lifted to Obi-Wan's face, then dropped to the stone again. “Can I touch it?”  
“Yes.”

Anakin slipped off the edge of the bed and crept forward, reaching out a reverent finger to just barely brush the crystal's surface. “It sings to you?”

“Yes, and I can feel it when it's near. If I'm separated from it, it feels like there's something missing from inside of me.”

“I feel that way about my Mom.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “That's why we're not going to stay in the Temple, Anakin. We train very little ones there because ideals can be cemented fairly early on. Your Mom passed her values to you, and those are quite firmly set already. To try to strip them away and give you another set... well, there's no point in it, and it would be a very unpleasant process.”  _And what you have will work just fine if you've not got the weight of kings on your shoulders._

“Oh. Why isn't the crystal blue? I saw your saber color.”

“The crystal itself has no color, unless it's hurt and bleeding. The color it chooses for the person it gifts itself to is a mystery, and a wonderful surprise. Most glow blue or green, but occasionally some are white, or purple, or yellow— any color you can imagine.”

“And...  _his..._ the... Sith?” Anakin whispered.

Obi-Wan managed a nod. “Kyber crystals don't sing to people who fill themselves with the dark side of the Force. They hide from them. So the only way for a dark side practitioner to bond with a crystal and fully unlock its possibilities is to... force it to bond. They steal one, and then they make it submit to them. The crystal bleeds, and both it and the blade it makes turn red with its pain. Did you hear it screaming? Sometimes, you can hear a bleeding crystal's weeping.”

“Yeah. I heard it. I didn't know that was what it was.” Tears filled Anakin's eyes and he swiped at them with the back of his hand. “It was so  _sad._ You know, there's people who force slaves to do that too. Connect with them against their will.”

Obi-Wan's stomach flipped over. “It's very similar, yes.”

“You're a good person, Obi-Wan,” Anakin announced.

“Oh?”  
“Yeah. The crystal saw your heart and picked you. So you're a good one. If you're not a Jedi anymore, but you're going to teach me, what will I be?”

“You're going to be the boy who freed his mother from slavery. How's that?”

And the glow in Anakin's face nearly calmed the agony in Obi-Wan's own heart.

 

* * *

 

Windu drew him aside just as he and Anakin were about to head out.

“Technically, I'm not supposed to mention this because this is classified as  _frip,_ but Vos is on Tatooine. If he hasn't left already.”

Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. “He is?”

“So if you get in trouble and need immediate backup, call him.”

“I don't have the authority to call in backup anymore,” Obi-Wan pointed out.

Windu huffed a chuckle. “You think Quinlan Vos will care?” And with that sly smile, he walked away.

Obi-Wan felt strangely bereft by his absence.

Anakin pressed up against Obi-Wan's leg. “I don't understand. Why would he help us?”  
“Because though Master Windu is growly on the outside, he has a heart of gold, and his loyalties lie to his family first. You understand that, don't you, Anakin?”  
“Yeah.” Anakin nodded once. “Mom comes first.”

“And Master Windu sees  _all_ Jedi as his family. He might be a little scared of you, Anakin.”

“ _Why_ ?”

_For the same reasons all of us are, and even Qui-Gon was._ “He sees terrifying things when he closes his eyes. It can be difficult to see people through the monsters that chase him all the time.”

Anakin's eyes went big. “Oh.” He held up his hand for Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan took that small hand in his, squeezed, and led Anakin into the future.

It scared the kark out of Obi-Wan, but he would do whatever it took over the next decade-plus to usher Anakin Skywalker, as whole and healthy as possible, into adulthood.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sparkle traps anyone? I didn't specify who the Sith on Naboo was... and I love the idea of sliding the timeline a little bit back in regards to Gangster Maul... turf war on Tatooine, Dryden v Jabba? I want to do this, but I don't have enough idea pieces to fit them all together. It's like a broken plate on the floor, but with the connecting bits missing.
> 
> If you want more, you can just list any ideas/words that come to mind, or prompts. Maybe something will snag the brain sparkles' attention. We might just get lucky.


End file.
